John Marshall (Stevenson) Kilimanjoro Sr. (1930 - 2019)

Born 6 Jun 1930 in Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, United States

Ancestors

Died 27 Mar 2019 at age 88 in High Point Township, Guilford, North Carolina, United States

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Biography

John (Stevenson) Kilimanjoro Sr. is Notable.

John Marshall Kilimanjaro was an American civil rights activist.

John Marshall Stevenson was born to Arthur Stevenson and Isabella Broy in Little Rock in 1930. His mother died when he was about five years old. He lived with his aunts Ruth Stevenson Lundy, Beatrice Broy Josey and Sarilda Phillips.

He was one of approximately seven African American graduate students to attend classes at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he earned a Master of Arts and a doctoral degree in Speech, Theatre Arts and English Literature (1956, 1965)." He served in the Navy during the Korean War.

When he moved to Greensboro, he joined Temple Emanuel where he married Culey May Vick^[1]and served in various capacities. He and his wife, Vickie chose the new surname Kilimanjaro when they married. She also retained her surname as part of her new first name, Vickie. In 1958 he was asked to be the secretary of the Greensboro NAACP.

Inpired by Dr. King to do something to benefit his community, he and Vickie founded an African American newspaper, the Peacemaker". This is the longest running weekly newspaper in the state. In 1972, John received the O. Henry Award for Artistic Creativity from the Greensboro chamber of Commerce. Under John’s leadership, the Peacemaker has garnered numerous journalism awards from the North Carolina Press Association and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. In 2006, John was selected to be the Samuel E. Cornish Publisher of the Year by the National Newspaper Publishers Association. In 1969, John established the Speech and Theatre Arts Department at North Carolina A&T State University where he was a professor. Later he founded the Paul Robeson Theater on campus and directed over 80 plays and musicals there. John was also instrumental in establishing the A&T chapter of the American Association of University Professors in 1971. He was a member of Alpha Psi Omega, National Honor Society of Dramatic Arts; Sigma Delta Chi, National Journalism Honor Society; and the graduate chapters of Phi Delta Kappa national education fraternity and Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society. John was a 2002 recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Gov. Mike Easley for his “significant contributions to the state and community through exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments.” He was a proud member of the Tau Omega Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, which honored him as Man of the Year and he later received the fraternity’s Founder’s Day Award in 2005. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP9X-5VFZ : 9 March 2021), John Marshall Stevenson and Culey Mae Vick, 25 Aug 1956; citing Guilford, North Carolina, United States, p. , North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History; FHL microfilm
2. ↑ In Loving Memory of Dr. John Marshall Kilimanjaro, Sr Published In the Peacemaker March 27, 2019 and written by his daughter Afrique I Kilimanjaro https://www.peacemakeronline.com/in-loving-memory-dr-john-marshall-kilimanjaro-sr-june-6-1930-march-27-2019/

• "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP9X-5VFZ : 9 March 2021), John Marshall Stevenson and Culey Mae Vick, 25 Aug 1956; citing Guilford, North Carolina, United States, p. , North Carolina State Archives Division of Archives and History; FHL microfilm
• "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q5SY-TZFQ : 18 July 2020), John Marshall Stevenson in entry for Arthur L Stevenson Sr, 1968.
• "North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VHGS-26R : 8 December 2014), John Marshall Stevenson in entry for Afrique Isabel Stevenson, 11 Dec 1969; from "North Carolina, Birth and Death Indexes, 1800-2000," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing vol. 397, p. 65, Guilford, North Carolina, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh.
• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6Z7T-93G5 : 8 March 2021), John Marshall Stevenson Kilimanjaro, ; Burial, , ; citing record ID 219886460, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
• In Loving Memory of Dr. John Marshall Kilimanjaro, Sr Published In the Peacemaker March 27, 2019 and written by his daughter Afrique I Kilimanjaro https://www.peacemakeronline.com/in-loving-memory-dr-john-marshall-kilimanjaro-sr-june-6-1930-march-27-2019/